Environment Canada Weather Forecast Marine Forecast issued for Eastern Lake Ontario. Issued: 10.30 AM EDT Monday 19 March 2007 for the period ending at 10.30 AM Tuesday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: Wind south 20 knots veering to southwest 25 early this evening then to west near midnight. Wind diminishing to northwest 20 early Tuesday morning. Snow ending becoming isolated flurries early this evening. Waves near 2 metres. Outlook..Moderate to strong northwesterlies veering to light northerlies then becoming variable.

Environment Canada Weather Forecast Marine Forecast issued for Lake Ontario. Issued: 10:13 AM EDT Friday 16 March 2007 for the period ending at 10.30 AM Saturday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: ..Freezing spray warning in effect.. Wind northeast 20 to 25 knots increasing to 30 with gusts to gales 35 this evening then backing to north 25 to 30 Saturday morning. Fair. Snow developing late this afternoon. Risk of freezing spray. Freezing spray beginning this evening. Waves 1 to 2 metres building to 2 to 3 this evening. Outlook..Strong northerlies backing to northwesterlies.

Sunday March 18, 2007

Saturday came and passed with a few visitors and my catching up on some sleep as the snow fell. I am glad that I got back when I did as the pressure ridges started to pop last night in the north wind yesterday. The ice is now picking Defiance up and pushing us around quite a bit.So far everything seems to be progressing well. At least there is no moving ice in this little corner of water. I will finish getting myself sorted out today and be ready for real life to begin again on Monday.

It is Saturday morning and probably the last of the winter snow storms is grasping at the frigid lawn of the Heavenly Moose Gallery here At Waupoos Marina. Rufas is sitting in the companionway looking for a little more attention and Celtic Woman is on the tube. I got back just in time as the storm has brought north winds that push the ice around me into pressure ridges, forcing one layer on top of another. You can feel Defiance lurch as one layer eventually forces Defiance to shift position regardless of the stress on our hull. Last night I even shut the forward through hull & set bilge alarms. Defiance now has an almost 5% port list and we are down to 15” of fuel (150 gallons) in the starboard tanks.

I expect that it will take me a while to get all my handwritten scrawl converted to meaningfull html. For now I will concentrate in getting the Belize stuff organized as we could all use a bit of sun right about now in Eastern Ontario.

Editors Note March 18, 2007

I am back from Belize it can be told. I flew out the next day with Tamerack left in command.

I have been back from Belize after almost a month working on another wood boat. My catch up break has ended its first phase as I cool out and contemplate the diminishing ice. The period of the Blogs from February 22 to March 16 will be updated from our handwritten notes and the images prepared in the next few weeks.

This was just what the doctor ordered for me as I find myself relaxed healthy and in good spirits as the next part of this story begins.

It will take me a while to compile all the written notes so until I get that task compleated you can browse the overall image index. Be warned that it is a HUGE page of thumbnails, that will take forever to load on all but fast connections, without picture explinations.

February 26, image index for Belize